Posts Tagged: Melissodes agilis
Just Being Totally Territorial

What was that! If you grow Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia) in your pollinator garden, you've...
A male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, targets the back of a painted lady, Vanessa cardui, on a Mexican sunflower in a Vacaville pollinator garden. This is typical territorial behavior. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Heads up! A male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, heads straight for the painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch butterfly is interrupted by a male longhorned bee engaging in territorial behavior. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male Longhorned Bees: Boys' Night Out!

Boys' Night Out! Have you ever seen a cluster of longhorned male bees sleeping overnight on a...
Male longhorned bees, Melissodes, spending the night on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male longhorned bees, probably Melissodes agilis, begin to wake up after spending the night clustered on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Tiger by the Tail

One of Buck Owens' signature songs that never failed to please his fan base was "I Got a Tiger by...
A longhorn bee, probably Melissodes agilis, has this "tiger" (Western tiger swallowtail) by the tail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Territorial male longhorn bees are targeting a Western tiger swallowtail as it's trying to sip some nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This Western tiger swallowtail, targeted by male longhorn bees, takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Let Us Prey!

Everybody eats in the pollinator garden. Everybody. The pollinators in our garden in Vacaville,...
A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata (as identified by Andrew Pfeifer) clings to a showy milkweed leaf as she dines on a longhorn bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis is a cunning predator. The score: praying mantis: 1. Longhorn bee: 0. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Nature's way; praying mantis devours her meal. The longhorn bee, probably a Melissodes agilis, erred in flying too close to the predator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
After her meal, the praying mantis climbs toward the top of the milkweed to look for more "meal movement." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Not a Good Way to Welcome an Admiral

It was not a good way to welcome an admiral. The Red Admiral butterfly, that is. The Vanessa...
A territorial male long-horned bee, probably Melissodes agilis, targets a Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The long-horned bee makes a "bee line" for the butterfly, a Red Admiral. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The bee slams into the butterfly and takes off for another round. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)